Egypt
History
History
- less than 2 inches of rain falls each year
- Nile river delta is 4,000 miles and spills into the Mediterranean Sea
6000 BC people settle in Nile Valley
5000 BC Egyptians farm sheep and cattle
4500 BC sails used on Egyptian ships
3500 BC craftsmen create first wall paintings using hieroglyphics in Egyptian writing
3000 BC villages built in Egypt
2500 BC Great Sphinx and Great pyramid at Giza built
1550 many tombs built in Valley of Kings
Geography
Economy
5000 BC Egyptians farm sheep and cattle
4500 BC sails used on Egyptian ships
3500 BC craftsmen create first wall paintings using hieroglyphics in Egyptian writing
3000 BC villages built in Egypt
2500 BC Great Sphinx and Great pyramid at Giza built
1550 many tombs built in Valley of Kings
Geography
- bordered by Mediterranean Sea
- Nile River flows through Egypt
- fertile crescent created by Nile River
- divided into four parts Nile River Valley, Arabian Desert, Libyan Desert, The Sinai
- 95% of Egypt is desert
Economy
- Nile Delta is where most Egyptian economy takes place
- most economic activity took place in farming
- farmers were paid with a small portion of crop
Social Structure
- on the bottom of the social structure is the farmers and slaves
- the craftsmen are higher up but still on the bottom
- scribes and soldiers were in the middle class
- nobles and priests were on the top of the social pyramid
- the vizier was in the first class ranking
- the pharaoh is of course on the top of the social pyramid and rules the people
Government
- government dominated by pharaoh
- believed king was more than a man
- gave the king complete power of the affairs of the empire and the people
- Egypt was a theocracy
- government officials included vizier, chef treasure, minister of public works, etc.
Beliefs and Religion
- religion was dominating influence in development of culture
- believed sun came out of an egg
- the sun ruled over all
- Egyptian gods had a human body and a human or animal head
- only god worshiped was Ra
Advancements and achievements
- obelisks had writing on them telling about great achievements
- Egyptians wrote their own language
- obelisks were used to remember pharaohs
- Egyptians created their own number system
Architecture
- best architectural achievement was building pyramids
- pyramids can be as tall as 482 feet
- first pyramid built at Saqqara
- tombs were used to bury kings and pharaohs
- the columns on tombs were used to support the building